I have a project I haven’t touched in two weeks. Why? I don’t know. I have forgotten to ask.

One of the main reasons I don’t procrastinate as much as I used to, is that I’ve gotten into the habit of asking why.

We often know we are procrastinating. But, instead of getting to the bottom of it we make excuses like, “Well I’m just a procrastinator” or “I’m just lazy”.

Firmly held beliefs about yourself are usually easier to deal with than, “I don’t want to be judged harshly with the finished result, so I’ll do it last minute knowing it wasn’t my best work.” Or, “I’m scared I don’t know what I am doing.” Or, “I am overwhelmed by the scope of it.”

Instead of telling ourselves the truth we lie to ourselves when we only admit we procrastinate.

Until we get to the why, it’s harder to overcome procrastination.

Next time you realize you are procrastinating, ask yourself why?

Then you can talk back to your fear, ask for help, break down the project into smaller pieces or try making the task more fun.

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2 comments

I want to start tracking my food intake. I have a nice notebook specifically for the task, and know where it is. I just have yet to start.

Why?

I don’t know. That’s my first answer, but really it is because I know I don’t always eat healthy foods, and I don’t always get exercise in, and I am not really sure how to do the exchange system for the diet plan really well. I’m also a leader in the weight loss group and so should be an example to the other members of what to do.

So, breaking this down: tracking foods and exercise will be a way of knowing what went on for a particular week of loss or gain, doing the tracking will teach me to do the exchange system, and then I will be a better example for other people as I’ll be working on the process.